This invention relates to the field of semiconductor technology. More particularly, embodiments of this invention are directed to methods and systems for production testing of semiconductor devices.
Semiconductor test practices can vary greatly in the industry. Automated test equipment (ATE) are often used to handle and test many different semiconductor product lines for various kinds of end users, e.g., consumer, automotive, and military devices. The amount of data produced in testing one device under test (DUT) can range from as little as 5 KB to as much as 1 MB and typically only takes a few seconds to test one DUT. Multiply this times the run rate of a small production facility, e.g., 20 or more ATEs running 24 hours/day 7 days a week, and the produced test data can reach 2 TeraBytes (2.0×1012 bytes) in one month.
Storage of the large amount of data can become costly. However, sorting, shifting, and managing all that data can require a team of engineers to analyze. Managing the data can becomes a big production challenge. In most cases, the industry may even choose not to output and store the data, because of the storage needed as well as the increased time it takes for the ATEs to produce these data files. In many cases there simply may not be data available for a particular product and not enough engineering staff to analyze the available data.
Therefore, improved methods and systems that address some of the limitations described above is desired.